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1 hour ago, Desert Cruizers said:

Thank you will make a note of those places. We are coming in 2 days early. We plan to do the Rain Forest between our sailings which are March 8th & 15th. Flights home were challenging however. I ended up booking the Day Pass at the Marriott as I couldn't get a flight home before 1 AM on the 23rd. had I left after the cruise United only gave me a 40 minute connection in Newark. AA was ok but not for $1255 R/T for myself. The Barrachina is a 2 min walk from the Decanter, Milano about 6 minutes and Raices 8 minutes. Daughter was concerned about walking at night.

Make sure you give yourself a day to walk around the old San juan,. Go to the forts, stop in the cathedral.Walk along the paseo del morro. The views are just incredible. OSW is a city you walk. and I never felt unsafe  walking at night. 

47 minutes ago, Desert Cruizers said:

Daughter & I will be doing our first cruise from OSJ and will be staying at the Decanter in March for our B2B, Nice to know you enjoyed your stay. May I ask of nice places to eat as the daughters flight doesn't get in until 5:10 PM. 

The three restaurants we ate at were, Raices for lunch, Punto de vista,which is a cool rooftop Restaurant and bar. And the Barrachina for dinner/  flamenco show, which was a lot of fun.  BTW The flamenco  show you need to reserve a couple of weeks in advance. All of the places were very good, but none fancy by any means.   Good food and fun atmospheres. 

If you want to stay in OSJ. I recommend the  Decanter Hotel. Beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of OSJ. Close to everything.(Catedral de San Juan right across the street) Try to get to San juan at least  a day in advance. It's such a cool old city to walk around.

On 9/26/2019 at 1:54 PM, Snickles65 said:

we went on that day trip this july, and had a wonderful time.  the lunch was good and you could have 2nds or 3rds if you wanted.  the crew was great and fun.  The pigs were cute and harmless.  The bathrooms had a/c which was nice.  It was a quick 20 min ride from paradise island.  I would go again, price was right. 

Im in port till  6 PM. Do you think that would be enough time, or would I be cutting to close. It says on there website that your back at the ferry terminal by 3:45 is that true. Also would it be good for kids.or was it more adult oriented.  Thanks for any info

I wouldn't sail on a Quantium Class from a warm weather port .Build for Cooler climates. Not enough outdoor space on this class.

1 minute ago, ReneeFLL said:

I just reread the title. Is this only for students from New Jersey? If so, then I don't think there would be much of a noticeable difference in the amount of kids. If it's a US thing then ugh! for me. 😁  I'm guessing the Anthem will be a popular ship for kids? It will be my first time on her so I won't have any comparison.

Yes as far as I know, only for NJ. Its also popular because its a kids sail free cruise, So people from nj take advantage of this and get a pretty good vacation for cheap. As for the amount of kids onboard, last time I was on there were  over  1000 kids onboard. My kids love it on Anthem, alot for them to do. Anthem is a beautiful ship but a different type of ship, built for colder climates. She has a lot of really cool indoor venues.

2 hours ago, BeagleAgility said:

I'm going on 2/23-3/1 out of Bayonne on the Anthem.  Should I be worried?

My kid have off 2/17-2/19 but some might take their kids out for the week. So you lucked out and just missed it.

I did the sea lion  Encounter with my family. It is included. Food no. Water sports yes. If they say no ask to speak to a manager/ supervisor. Some of the people working there just don't know. As for the lunch  they wanted $20 pp. I haggled with them and got them down to $10pp. Think the guy just pocketed the $. 

Anyone do sandy toes on rose island on a day trip. Would like to do a different place. just looking for info/input.  thanks

Book it yourself online. and take a taxi there.  It's a 10 minute cab ride. Super easy there a ton of taxis  going  back and forth. And a lot cheaper. You'll get there an hour earlier , and you won't be fighting for a chair. On the way back goto the main entrance of Atlantis. There will be cabs waiting to drive you wherever you want to go. 

35 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

You can’t get to Blue Lagoon by taxi.  You have to go by boat.  It is an island located NE of Paradise Island

Yes but you can take a taxi to the Paradise Island ferry terminal, then ferry to Blue lagoon.  I think that is what the OP was interested in.

7 hours ago, MamaTene said:

Exactly what is it? When is it this year? 

11/3-11/9. Will be on anthem, with my kids and probably 1000 more. LOL

For you future planners Jersey week 2020 will be 11/1-11/7

24 minutes ago, pgerbphoto said:

Can we save money by taking a taxi to the “Blue Lagoon” in Nassau vs paying for an excursion? Also, do you recommend the Blue Lagoon as a good beach day in Nassau? 

If you have  kids I would recommend it. If just adults,  then probably not.   Rci does make it super easy to get there with the ferry pick up at the port. If you really want to go, book the cheapest animal encounter(stingray) You dont  have to do it. This includes all the water sports but, no lunch. Lunch will be $20 P.P. on the island. Or do what I did  and wait til lunch is almost over and haggle with them  and got it for $10. lol . It is a nice beach day and there is a lot to do , but if your looking to get away from kids it might not be the place.

Does anyone know if you  can break away from the  guided tour. Hate doing any tour with the cruise lines, but this was the cheapest option at the time.  Cheaper then doing it on my own. (Couldn't believe It)

To me, it looks like Empress and Oasis will park in the garage.  Don't worry, tons of parking at the port

3 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

It does, but again, it's subject to river traffic and completely at the pilot's discretion who can overrule the captain on the sail by. 

Maybe, but to me it looks like Celebrity is selling the idea that your going to be hanging by the SOL for 45 minutes.

Celebrity summit  goes past the SOL. 

Some ships you need to go to the shore excursions desk to select a cabana. If you have younger kids the most useful ones are by the wave pool. 

2 minutes ago, yancycruiser said:

Which side of the ship and which deck do you board on the Adventure of the Seas out of Port Liberty?

Thank you,

Yanceycruiser.

Starboard side. Deck 4

My wife and kids were just on the summit. I purchased the surf internet package for the 3 of them. So  I could get intouch with them. They all thought the service was pretty good. I was  even able to facetime my youngest which surprised me. When they got home  I asked them about the service and they said it was better than the voom on some of the Royal ships. In my opinion the unlimited package is way too expensive . You should look into the surf package. It would probably suit your needs. If i remember correctly I think it was about $180 for 3 devices.

Oasis or Quantum Class  get a suite. All the rest wouldn't bother. The suite benefits aren't that good on the older ships.    

Won't recommend  doing any of the  theme parks. Too far a away from the port. Maybe 4-5 hours in the park. And on top of that would cost a lot of $ for very little time. Save that for a land vacation.

On 8/10/2019 at 6:15 PM, Lisamarie18 said:

I just called Captain’s Club and was told that it included the premium beverage package and two free bottles of wine if you upgraded from an existing package. If you purchase the package outright, it includes 2 bottles of wine, $50 casino obc, wine tasting, maccallan tasting.  Right now, the premium plus is priced at $10/day in my cruise planner, $2 less than the regular premium upgrade from classic so I upgraded. Didn’t sound like they really knew what was in the package for sure

You can upgrade right from the cruise planner?  I have the classic package as a perk and I was wonder how to upgrade and how much.

11 hours ago, tomjn111 said:

We are considering the 3/29/2020  seven day Bahamas cruise on the Anthem. We did the Canada / New England cruise on this ship in the fall and had a great time. This particular cruise leaves Port Liberte 2 weeks before Easter. Not that we don't love kids but we are concerned that because of the proximity to Easter and Spring Break that the ship will be carrying a larger amount of children than usual. Also children under 12 years old will be sailing free. I am aware that Royal Caribbean markets itself as a family cruise experience and I expect there to be children on board. I am wondering however if this particular week would be one to avoid. Any opinions or comments?

 The 4/5/ 2020 sailing is my kids easter break. Will be on that one with them and probably  many more kids from the area. If your not into kids, might want to avoid that one.  lol. Also it's not a kids sail free week.Wish it was but it not. 

Easy answer. NO. Dress however you like.